Dr. Michael Palmer is an Associate Professor in Economics at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. 

A/Prof Palmer's research is largely focused on the economic and social consequences of ill-health and disability. He is interested in the role of public policy in shaping equality of opportunities, and how notions of economic justice and human rights can help justify and enable such a change. 

A/Prof Palmer is Graduate Research Coordinator in Economics at the UWA Business School. He is the recipient of the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award (Post-Graduate category) at UWA Business School. 

Before joining the UWA, he has held several academic positions including Head of Discipline and Senior Lecturer in Economics at RMIT (Vietnam), Research Fellow at the School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, and Managing Director and Lecturer at the Vietnamese-Dutch Masters of Development Economics Program, Institute of Social Studies (The Hague).

He has also held several non-academic positions including Asia-Pacific Regional Coordinator for the Disability Data Initiative and Promotions and Publicity Officer for the United Nations Association of Australia (NSW branch).